The Conflicts of Men's Interests - 1

(Originally written July 17, 2006 in Book 3)

The Virtue of Selfishness
Ayn Rand

The Conflicts of Men's Interests

Objectivism holds that there are no conflicts of interest between rational men.

There are four interrelated considerations involved in a rational man's view of his interests:
1) Reality
2) Context
3) Responsibility
4) Effort

Man's interests cover man's values, his desires, goals and their achievement in reality.

Man's interests depend on his choice of goals which depend on his desires which depend on his values. A rational man bases his values solely on the judgments of his mind.

Desires are the same as feelings, emotions, wishes and whims. They are neither a tool of cognition nor a valid standard of value, nor a valid criterion of man's interests.

Just because man desires something does not mean that the object of desire is good or that the achievement of the object is in his interests.

To believe that whenever a desire is frustrated a man's interest is sacrificed, is to hold to a subjectivist view of ethics. It also states that one believes that it is moral to achieve a desire even if it contradicts reality. It is a mystical ethical theory.

Subjectivist ethics are close-minded and do not pursue the issue to the fullest extent.

A rational man is guided by reason, not desire. A rational man acts on a desire only when he has reasoned it to be valid in the full context of his knowledge and in accordance with all of his other goals and values. He does not act on 'because I want it', only on 'because I want it because it is right'.

The law of identity is the vital logical tool in validating his interests. This eliminates any chance of contradictions.

"Only an irrationalist (or mystic or subjectivist - in which category I place all those who regard faith, feelings or desires as man's standard of value) exists in a perpetual conflict of interests" (Rand, 51).

When man's interests conflict with reality, the meaning of interests are lost and the question shifts from philosophy to psychology.

Rational men do not pursue interests out of the context of reality or his values or his knowledge.